The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
The “Internet-of-Things”, aka “IoT” has seen significant growth. In general, IoT enhances electronic devices and physical objects with sensors, such as thermostats, cameras and the like, and connectivity, such as Wi-Fi, BLUETOOTH® and the like. This enables IoT devices to exhibit more complex behavior. For example, digital sensors can now monitor the room's temperature and user feedback and make sure the temperature follows the user preferences, taking into account environmental parameters and time of the day. Another example is found in Smart TVs that can sense proximate mobile devices and enable automatic connection to allow sharing.
Another area seeing growth is augmented reality, “AR” and virtual reality (“VR”). AR augments a physical object by presenting virtual content, such as audio and video, to extend and enhanced the user experience of the physical object. AR presentations can be made using mobile computer devices, such as phones and tablets, as well as with optical head-mounted displays (“OHMD”) which involve a see-through display such as GOOGLE GLASS®. AR is distinguished from VR, which replaces the real world with a simulated world. VR is typically provided via virtual reality headsets which obscure a user's vision (though which may also use a camera to allow the user to see a digital rendering of the user's surroundings), such as OCULUS RIFT®.
For existing AR presentations, the user has to explicitly connect to the IoT device or be in an area which has been mapped and associated with an AR experience. For example, some IoT devices may require that the user install a custom application on a mobile device or use a web-based service in order to access the AR enhancements to the IoT device. The user must actively initiate the AR interaction and figure out how to operate the IoT device. An example of the mapping case can be found in mobile phone apps which present restaurant data while walking or which present star or mountain names, all based on the location and orientation of the mobile phone relative to the mapped location of restaurants, stars, and mountains.
However, as more IoT devices enter our environment, mapping IoT devices and/or requiring explicit connection are substantial problems.